A more leftfield cut this week as siblings Gem And Eye fuse dream pop, trip-hop and Balearica to soul-soothing effect

ome in, take your coat off. Put your feet up, make yourself at home… can I get you anything to drink?” That’s what this week’s exclusive track will be saying to your tired and weary soul the moment you hit the Play button below!

Virtual Reality comes from Gem And Eye, the sibling duo of Dillon and Harley Pace. An EMI-signed producer since his teens, Dillon has worked with the likes of The Veronicas, Betty Who, Elle Varner and Marsha Ambrosius, with whom he recently scored a US Top 10 R&B hit. When his sister’s singing, the pair draw on influences ranging from 60s jazz to 70s glam to 90s trip-hop. Theirs is a polished sound that’s accessible enough to bother the pop charts, yet sophisticated enough to be heard come sundown at the coolest of Ibiza beach bars – comparisons that spring to mind would include Goldfrapp, Florence & The Machine, Lamb or Crazy P.

Of Virtual Reality itself – which is to be the first of three standalone singles from Gem And Eye this spring/summer – Harley says: “Lyrically, Virtual Reality has an air of mystery, and I welcome listeners to interpret it how they’d like. For me it captures the emotional battle of what it’s like to wait for someone can’t commit, and at the same time tells a completely different story about a future where we lose human relationships to technology.

“The song began as a cinematic string lead that Dillon planned on using for soundtracking. But once he began layering a composition over it, we realised there was a pop sensibility to it and an inherent emotional story in the music itself. The production on this track is heavy and complex, with classical elements and a Sneaker Pimps trip-hop vibe, that is meant to create a timeless, etherial listening experience. For this song, the track inspired the lyrics, which further plays on a blending of past and future by reventing a universal story about relationships through mythic and science fiction imagery.”

We absolutely love this one… hope you do too!

Like what you hear? Then find out more by hitting up Gemandeye’s Facebook and Soundcloud pages, or following them on Twitter.